Figueroa’s New Sidewalks

Figueroa's sidewalks are now much safer and wider.

Finally, the bottleneck of construction that was slowing down cars on Figueroa has opened up. For three weeks during the month of October, a construction crew worked tirelessly to lay new concrete slabs to fix broken and uneven sections of the sidewalk.

If you find yourself walking down Figueroa between Avenue 50 and Avenue 60, look down and notice the new sidewalk. It’s wider and you’ll no longer have to watch out and step over broken slabs, all thanks to construction crew 170. “We’re taking care of the sidewalk from Avenue 50 to Avenue 60,” says the crew. “This is to make the sidewalk safe for pedestrians.”

This sidewalk construction sets up Figueroa’s sidewalks for a new construction bid to enhance Highland Park’s sidewalks on Fig between Avenue 50 and Avenue 60. A bid proposal signed on October 19 details the project. It states that the sidewalk enhancements will include installing lithomosaic tiles in sidewalk sections to create 6 feet by 4 feet mosaics depicting historic images of Highland Park. These mosaic sections of sidewalk will appear at 14 locations between Avenue 50 and Avenue 60 along Figueroa.

The mosaic images will include a depiction of the Hahamog’na people of the Tongva Tribe who were among the first to settle in what is known today as Highland Park. The Tongva are Native Americans who inhabited Southern California before Spanish exploration. Another image depicts the Spanish land grant of Rancho San Rafael, once owned by Jose Maria Verdugo of the Spanish Army. Rancho San Rafael was then sold and divided to create the suburbs we know today.

So far, a contract has not yet been awarded for this bid.

But as of right now, you can enjoy the new smoother and wider sidewalks down Figueroa. Walk by yourself or two, maybe even three side by side as you stop for coffee and shop for vintage!

Steffi Victorioso

Creative Writer
at Happening In Highland Park

She’s a world traveler, culinary adventurer, and MMA enthusiast. Never one to back down, she doesn’t let a lactose intolerance get in the way of her love for pizza, milkshakes, or ice cream.